The Woodentops are a British indie band that enjoyed critical acclaim and moderate popularity in the mid-1980s. The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial line-up of Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar, formerly of The Wild Swans), Simon Mawby (guitar), Alice Thompson (keyboards), Frank DeFreitas (bass guitar), and Benny Staples replacing Paul Hookham (drums).
After a debut single, "Plenty" on Food Records in 1984, which received a glowing review from Morrissey in Melody Maker, they signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records, releasing a series of singles in 1985 and their debut album, Giant, in 1986.
The band then became more experimental and frenetic when playing live, using more electronic sounds. The Woodentops continued to play live, touring the world until 1992, and then singer Rolo McGinty resurfaced as a DJ called Pluto in the 1990s, and with Rob Miller for the Dogs Deluxe electronica project. He also provided vocals for Gary Lucas's, Gods and Monsters. Guitarist Simon Mawby was briefly a member of The House of Love in the early 1990s.
The Woodentops returned to live performances in September 2006 and, in October 2009, they performed in a special concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London's South Bank. They also curated the events in the Front Room of the same theatre with an exhibition of works by artist Panni Bharti, and concerts by musicians Worm, Othon and Ernesto Tomasini.
Links to Peel
The Woodentops did many sessions for the BBC including those with Janice Long, Simon Mayo and John Peel. In an 2007 interview with Penny Black Music, singer Rolo McGinty explained that his best sessions were with Peel:
"The ones that really meant a lot to me were the three sessions we did for John Peel. I was a John Peel under-the-pillow listener. His voice was part of my teenage life and I heard many a thing I grew to love first time on John Peel." [1]
Listeners in 1985 on Peel shows also voted couple of the Woodentops songs at the Festive Fifty.
